Euthanasia - Who Suffers?

Essay by kalofel September 2004

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There are many controversies regarding euthanasia. Should it be all right for individuals to die, or to be put out of their misery, if there is no hope of survival? Many suffer in making such a complicated decision.

The individual that is suffering and requesting to be put out of his misery is the one that suffers the most. This individual is the one having to deal with the pain. They no longer want to bear it. It is not, however, the only pain that they have to go through. They have to deal with emotional pain as well. Mainly, their pride is hurt. They see themselves as weak individuals. They feel and are helpless. They know this, but there is nothing they can do about it.

The other set of individuals that suffer is the sick individual's family. First, they go through the emotional pain of having a sick family member or loved one.

It is common for the family to worry about its member when danger or illness falls. They also have to deal with some physical pain. If they stay at the sick individual's bedside, then they seldom get any sleep. If they do, their sleep is confined to a chair. When they wake up they are sore with aches and pains. Their body is physically worn out.

However, emotional and physical pain isn't the only thing that the family has to suffer. They also lose money. Staying by the sick individual's side, or tending to that individual, usually requires the family member's time. That means that they have to stop going to work for a while. If not a while, then they start leaving work early, or coming in later. This is time that they could be using to make money at their jobs.